Word family noun subconscious unconscious consciousness unconsciousness adjective conscious ≠ unconscious subconscious adverb subconsciously consciously ≠ unconsciously
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconsciousnesscon‧scious‧ness /ˈkɒnʃəsnəs $ ˈkɑːn-/ ●●○ W3 noun 1 [uncountable]MCONSCIOUS the condition of being awake and able to understand what is happening around you David lost consciousness (=went into a deep sleep) at eight o'clock and died a few hours later. She could faintly hear voices as she began to regain consciousness (=wake up).2 [countable, uncountable]MIND your mind and your thoughts The painful memories eventually faded from her consciousness. Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness. research into human consciousness3 [countable]OPINION someone’s ideas, feelings, or opinions about politics, life etc The experience helped to change her political consciousness.4 [uncountable]KNOW something when you know that something exists or is true SYN awareness This will increase public consciousness of the pollution issue. → stream of consciousnessCOLLOCATIONSverbslose consciousness (=go into a type of deep sleep that is not normal)As she fell, she hit her head and lost consciousness for several minutes.regain/recover consciousness (=wake up)I wanted to stay at the hospital until he regained consciousness.return to consciousnessWhen I returned to consciousness, my head was throbbing with pain.bring somebody back to consciousnessThe doctors were unable to bring her back to consciousness.drift in and out of consciousness (=be awake and then not awake, and then awake again, etc)He had a high temperature and was drifting in and out of consciousness. Examples from the Corpus
consciousness• Compared to the rest of the universe, intelligence and consciousness and life are stable instabilities.• Her legs were almost too shaky to hold her up and she felt consciousness closing down.• The whole problem is consciousness, organization and leadership.• I slice a piece out of my finger, see the blood pour out, and lose consciousness.• He then grabs his throat with both hands, as if suddenly choking, closes his eyes and pretends to lose consciousness.• If you lose consciousness, even for a second, then you have suffered brain damage and must withdraw from further competition.• My consciousness was raised, my knuckles were rapped and I no longer write or think that way.• The death of President Kennedy almost 40 years ago still lives in the national consciousness.• And the extent of these associative and other processes increases as we ascend the scale of consciousness.regain consciousness• In many instances, the person with a major seizure will be confused after regaining consciousness.• But when the man finally regains consciousness and staggers to a mirror, even he is unsure of who he is.• Mrs Fanshawe had regained consciousness in Stowerton Royal Infirmary after her six-week-long coma.• He had regained consciousness, but was drowsy and uncomfortable.• He regained consciousness and crawled back to the house to be taken care of by his young wife.• The doctors don't know when he'll regain consciousness.• Officers tried to resuscitate him but he did not regain consciousness.• She regained consciousness in a corner of the wall; people were talking, including, it seemed to her Deputy Yang.• Two and a half weeks after the accident, he began to regain consciousness.• She died without regaining consciousness.human consciousness• The flow of everyday life provides a context in which individual human consciousness usually operates.• But one thing it represents far me is this: the eternal conflict between the analytical and creative aspects of human consciousness.• What happens, then, if we substitute the cat with an ape-man, just at the dawn of human consciousness?• I picture the evolution of human consciousness in the shape of an hourglass.• Hegel detected this dialectical progression in the progress of human consciousness and intellectual - emotional growth.• On the starry nighttime side of human consciousness, myth still lives and reigns.• Social existence no doubt determines consciousness but then only human consciousness can imagine an alternative social existence.• Marx none the less believed that an external reality did exist, and that human consciousness could understand it.public consciousness• The Olympian deities themselves no longer dominated public consciousness as they had done for centuries past.• It emerged in public consciousness as a reaction to Charles Darwin and the evolution controversy.• The Women's Liberation or Feminist Movement was influential in bringing women's issues into public consciousness.• Inevitably, in time, some of the progressive ideas being put forward seeped into public consciousness.• As a result this very large pay-out to 1.4m families has made scant impact on public consciousness.• The United States' economic success during the 90s embedded this idea in the public consciousness.• Leary belonged to that second string of artists, very good but never thrust into the public consciousness.• The bike coalition is also seeking to raise the public consciousness about the benefits of biking. 